T-Rex needs a diet
ArsT linked to this article about a study which shows that Tyrannosaurus Rex was likely a scavenger with a likely running speed of between 11mph and 25mph, with 25mph being the max sprinting speed. The T-Rex was put through a computer model that's been validated against lots of creatures in the animal kingdom today and is based on the ratio of muscle mass in the legs to overall body weight. As a cyclist, I can fully appreciate this theory. I can barely ride up a hill right now because my upper body is heavier than it is during riding season. Ever seen a pro cyclist? They're brutes downstairs, chickens upstairs.
I laugh to think that a future generation of children might grow up learning about the giant plodding T-Rex, unable to chase down your average teenager.
As noted in the article, if this is true, then the image of the T-Rex chasing down a jeep in Jurassic Park is pretty ludicrous. But it is not even close to being the most severe distortion of history set forth by movies. The entertaining book Past Imperfect: History According to the Movies provides a detailed analysis of the accuracy and inaccuracy of all sorts of Hollywood movies.
While we're on the subject of popular myths from my childhood, the idea that Shakespeare didn't even write his own plays is gaining momentum. A new documentary makes the case that Christopher Marlowe wrote the plays, and earlier this year I saw a play at the Seattle Rep called The Beard of Avon which proposed that the plays were a collaboration between Shakespeare and Edward de Vere, with de Vere being the primary author.
Like any reasonable customer, I had a conniption fit and chewed out a customer service rep and then her manager using every word in my vocabulary longer than four letters to express dismay, anger, intent to maim and pillage.
No use. Bye bye 25K miles.
Today I finally gave in and called them back. I needed the miles for a flight home for my sister's wedding, and it was cheaper to pay $75 than a couple hundred.
Well, lo and behold, a very friendly woman with a British accent answered. She inquired about my situation, even though I was resigned to my fate, then put me on hold for a while, and when she came back she said she'd waive the fee.
Of course, United Airlines is near bankruptcy so they're being forced to improve their customer service. Who knows, those miles I got back may not be usable in a year if United has gone under and been bought out by some other airlines. A company that tried to take a hard stance and fleece its customers in November shouldn't get credit for playing fair in March.
Still, I was feeling pretty good about United after that nice lady apologized and begged for my forgiveness (it might also have to do with the accent--female British accents are so sexy). Studies have shown that if you provide a bad customer experience initially but then rectify it with good customer service, that customer tends to be even more loyal than a customer who got a good customer experience from the start and never had to deal with customer service. Delivery was late? We're sorry, let us waive the delivery charge. Product didn't work out of the box? We'll send you a replacement and a $25 gift certificate. Scary to think that a company that engineers the best possible customer experience up front might end up with lower customer loyalty.
Some companies have taken these studies as a sign that they should purposefully engineer some mishaps into their business process and then trip over themselves to make things right. In doing so, they'd earn extreme customer loyalty.
Maybe there isn't any hope for humanity.
I laugh to think that a future generation of children might grow up learning about the giant plodding T-Rex, unable to chase down your average teenager.
As noted in the article, if this is true, then the image of the T-Rex chasing down a jeep in Jurassic Park is pretty ludicrous. But it is not even close to being the most severe distortion of history set forth by movies. The entertaining book Past Imperfect: History According to the Movies provides a detailed analysis of the accuracy and inaccuracy of all sorts of Hollywood movies.
While we're on the subject of popular myths from my childhood, the idea that Shakespeare didn't even write his own plays is gaining momentum. A new documentary makes the case that Christopher Marlowe wrote the plays, and earlier this year I saw a play at the Seattle Rep called The Beard of Avon which proposed that the plays were a collaboration between Shakespeare and Edward de Vere, with de Vere being the primary author.
Bad then good customer service = customer loyalty?
There may be hope for humanity after all. I had called United Airlines back in November to try and get credit for 25K frequent flier miles I had intended to use on a flight to a wedding on 9/14. Well, then 9/11 happened, and my flight was canceled. I tried to call United a few times in October and the lines were eternally busy. So November rolls around, I finally get through, and United wants to charge me $75 to get those 25K miles back.Like any reasonable customer, I had a conniption fit and chewed out a customer service rep and then her manager using every word in my vocabulary longer than four letters to express dismay, anger, intent to maim and pillage.
No use. Bye bye 25K miles.
Today I finally gave in and called them back. I needed the miles for a flight home for my sister's wedding, and it was cheaper to pay $75 than a couple hundred.
Well, lo and behold, a very friendly woman with a British accent answered. She inquired about my situation, even though I was resigned to my fate, then put me on hold for a while, and when she came back she said she'd waive the fee.
Of course, United Airlines is near bankruptcy so they're being forced to improve their customer service. Who knows, those miles I got back may not be usable in a year if United has gone under and been bought out by some other airlines. A company that tried to take a hard stance and fleece its customers in November shouldn't get credit for playing fair in March.
Still, I was feeling pretty good about United after that nice lady apologized and begged for my forgiveness (it might also have to do with the accent--female British accents are so sexy). Studies have shown that if you provide a bad customer experience initially but then rectify it with good customer service, that customer tends to be even more loyal than a customer who got a good customer experience from the start and never had to deal with customer service. Delivery was late? We're sorry, let us waive the delivery charge. Product didn't work out of the box? We'll send you a replacement and a $25 gift certificate. Scary to think that a company that engineers the best possible customer experience up front might end up with lower customer loyalty.
Some companies have taken these studies as a sign that they should purposefully engineer some mishaps into their business process and then trip over themselves to make things right. In doing so, they'd earn extreme customer loyalty.
Maybe there isn't any hope for humanity.